Hussein assembles hardware that her students and others from around the world could access remotely.
Rania Hussein had a dilemma: The 60 students in her Design of Digital Circuits and Systems course would need access to materials they’d normally use in an in-person lab. She knew the UW wasn’t alone in facing this problem so Hussein partnered with educators at universities in Michigan, Malaysia, Spain and Brazil to create a distributed remote circuit board lab. Thanks to this collaboration, students at any of the participating universities could remotely access hardware located at any of the other institutions. Hussein’s approach was centered on equity: “I wanted students to continue designing and testing circuits after the class ended and develop their technical skills equitably, without having to return borrowed kits or purchase expensive hardware.”